Web-Based Encyclopedia of Life Can't Stay Alive on Debut

Washington (AP) The web-based encyclopedia of life which debuted Tuesday appears to be a huge hit. It was so popular the site's computers crashed, and the venture's founding chairman says he's “thrilled.”

Organizers say the encyclopedia's web site logged 11.5 million hits over 5 hours, including 2 hours of down time.

The encyclopedia will eventually have more than 1 million pages devoted to different species of life on earth.

Tuesday's unveiling included limited web pages for 30,000 species. There were also pages going into more depth on species ranging from the common potato to the peregrine falcon.

Eventually, planners hope to have all 1.8 million species on the web and already have set up 1 million placeholder pages.

The most popular of the species for web searches: the poisonous Death Cap mushroom.

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